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Social media-first marketing: A case study of leveraging influencers
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
3
(1),
48-57
(2018)
Abstract
Generation Z spends most of their day on mobile devices and institutions are trying to disrupt that space to encourage engagement with their brand. In October 2016, Drake University leveraged social media, public relations and word-of-mouth tactics to lure a world-famous rapper (Drake) to its campus, eventually resulting in the most traffic to its website since it was created in 1997. This paper will discuss the ways Drake University benefits from a social media-first strategy approach, examples of how they are adopting this strategy and why other institutions may benefit.
Keywords: generation Z; social media; influencers; native content; organic content; engagement; Drake University; #BringDraketoDrake
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Nicole Smith has worked in advancement for four years, starting in alumni relations, and now works as the Assistant Director of Public Relations, Social Media at her alma mater, Drake University. She was part of the team effort that used the #BringDraketoDrake social media campaign to lure world-famous rapper Drake to the campus. That campaign received international media attention and has won a Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Golden Circle distinction and local communications and marketing awards. Prior to working in higher education, Nicole worked for The Des Moines Register during the 2008 Iowa caucuses. She holds a master of communication leadership degree from Drake University.
